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June 2005
Esquire Drug of the Month: Tribulus
terrestris
Perhaps you're wondering why I, the Overstimulated Girl , would choose to take a
supplement designed to boost virility and testosterone production. It's not that
I want to look like a Bulgarian power lifter. Tribulus has something else to offer,
something that many pills promise but don't deliver (at least for me):
It turbocharges
your libido.
What is it? A weed, also known as "puncture vine" due to its sharp burrs.
What it
claims to do: Refreshingly, I couldn't find much hype about this botanical.
Even its proponents admit that no one quite knows how it works, and that, since
it's not an essential nutrient, the body doesn't -really need it. But it's popular
among serious gym-goers, who believe that it increases muscle mass and is an all-around
energy tonic. Also, it supposedly acts as a potent aphrodisiac by enhancing production
of luteinizing hormone, or LH. More LH promotes increased testosterone production
and affects the body's sex drive.
But does it work? While I was watching for the side effects of a jolt of testosterone—a
nice thick brow bone, perhaps, or some new facial hair—the flip side of Tribulus
terrestris snuck up and delivered a jolt of its own. This stuff makes you wicked
horny. I don't know if my muscle mass has increased, but I'm having too much fun
to care.
Where to buy: Any health-food store. The brand I took is called Testron SX, which also includes small doses of additional herbs that enhance Tribulus terrestris 's
potency. $28 for sixty tablets.